The Latest: Report faults Comey but finds no political bias

FILE - In this April 6, 2017, file photo, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks in New York. The Justice Department’s internal watchdog is expected to criticize the FBI’s handling of the Clinton email investigation, stepping into a political minefield as it details how a determinedly non-partisan law enforcement agency came to be entangled in the 2016 presidential race. President Donald Trump will look to the inspector general report to provide a fresh line of attack against the FBI’s two former top officials, Director James Comey and his deputy, Andrew McCabe, as he claims that a politically tainted bureau tried to undermine his campaign and, through the Russia investigation, his presidency. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on a report by the Justice Department's internal watchdog on the FBI's handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation. (all times local):

12:15 p.m.

The Justice Department's watchdog faults former FBI Director James Comey for breaking with established protocol in his handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation. But it found that his decisions were not driven by political bias.

The report also criticizes Comey for not keeping then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch and other Justice Department superiors properly informed about his handling of the investigation.

That's according to a person familiar with the report's conclusions who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The person was not authorized to speak on the record because the report is not yet public.

The report's findings are set to be made public later Thursday. It represents the culmination of an 18-month review into one of the most consequential FBI investigations in recent history.

__ Chad Day in Washington

___

11:55 a.m.

President Donald Trump is bashing the special counsel investigation into Russian election meddling as a "pile of garbage" ahead of the release of a highly anticipated report looking into the Justice Department's conduct during the 2016 election.

Trump says in a pair of tweets that now that he's back from his summit with North Korea, "the thought process must sadly go back to the Witch Hunt."

Trump is yet again insisting there was "No Collusion and No Obstruction of the fabricated No Crime" and is accusing Democrats of making up "a phony crime," paying "a fortune to make the crime sound real," and then "Collud(ing) to make this pile of garbage take on life in Fake News!"

The report by the Justice Department's internal watchdog is being released Thursday afternoon and is expected to criticize the FBI's handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation.

___

11:35 a.m.

Two Republican-led House committees say their own monthslong probe into the now-closed FBI investigation of Hillary Clinton's emails has so far shown "questionable decision-making" by the agency.

A document listing preliminary conclusions was obtained by The Associated Press ahead of a separate report from the Justice Department's internal watchdog. That much-anticipated report is due to be released Thursday afternoon. It is expected to criticize the FBI's handling of the investigation.

Republicans on the House Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform committees say they have "substantial questions about whether DOJ and FBI properly analyzed and interpreted the law surrounding mishandling of classified information." They charge that the FBI did not follow legal precedent and treated the Clinton probe differently from other cases.

The Republicans allege bias against Donald Trump in his campaign against Clinton.

— Mary Clare Jalonick

___

1 a.m.

The Justice Department's internal watchdog is releasing its much-anticipated report on the FBI's handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation.

The report being issued Thursday afternoon is the culmination of an 18-month review of one of the most consequential FBI investigations in recent history.

Its findings will revive debate about whether FBI actions affected the outcome of the 2016 presidential election and contributed to Clinton's loss to Donald Trump.

Trump's supporters have eagerly awaited the report in hopes that it would skewer the judgment of James Comey, who was fired as FBI director last year.

Among the actions scrutinized is Comey's decision to publicly announce his recommendation against prosecuting Clinton, and his disclosure to Congress days before the election that the investigation was being revived because of newly discovered emails.

The Associated Press is an American multinational nonprofit news agency headquartered in New York City. The AP is owned by its contributing newspapers, radio, and television stations in the United States, all of which contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists.

A Hungarian court has sentenced four human traffickers to 25 years in prison for their role in the 2015 case in which 71 migrants suffocated to death in the back of a refrigerated truck found on a highway in Austria

A company founded by Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been selected to build a high-speed underground transportation system that will whisk passengers from downtown Chicago to O'Hare International Airport in minutes

North Koreans are getting a new look at U.S. President Donald Trump after his summit with Kim Jong Un and it's a far cry from the dotard label their government slapped on him last year. But how long will it last?

A Hungarian court has sentenced four human traffickers to 25 years in prison for their role in the 2015 case in which 71 migrants suffocated to death in the back of a refrigerated truck found on a highway in Austria

A company founded by Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been selected to build a high-speed underground transportation system that will whisk passengers from downtown Chicago to O'Hare International Airport in minutes

Kim Kardashian West and Alice Marie Johnson, the woman President Donald Trump freed from a life sentence, say they won't stop advocating for other people serving long sentences for non-violent drug offenses